Laboratory tube cap presenter for capping laboratory tubes

Abstract

A laboratory tube cap presenter for a tube, such as a test tube, a medical vial or other vessel that may be capped by an automated capper in a robotic tube handling apparatus, the tube cap presenter having a magazine of pre-oriented tube caps that cooperates with a selector mechanism and a shuttle mechanism to transport a selected tube cap to a presentation station where the tube cap is oriented for pick up by the pickup mechanism of a robotic tube handling apparatus.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A laboratory tube cap presenter that selectively presents a tube cap for a laboratory tube from a tube cap supply to a tube cap pickup location comprising:
 a frame having an external housing; 
 a storage magazine vertically mounted on the frame having at least one slot for containing a plurality of tube caps, wherein the slot is sized to contain tube caps in a uniform side to side orientation; 
 a sorting shunt having an actuator assembly with a block and release mechanism that selectively releases a single tube cap and blocks remaining tube caps in the storage magazine on activation of the actuator assembly; 
 a cap carrier that receives a tube cap released from the sorting shunt; 
 a presentation pin that is contactable with a tube cap received by the cap carrier; 
 an orientation station displaced from the storage magazine; 
 a transport system connected to the cap carrier that transports a tube cap to the orientation station when a tube cap is received by the cap carrier; and 
 a pivot actuator that pivots the presentation pin and a tube cap at the orientation station to a pickup position for tube cap pickup. 
 
     
     
       2. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 1  wherein the presentation pin is a support post that supports a tube cap at the orientation station on vertical positioning of the support post. 
     
     
       3. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 2  wherein the support post includes a stabilizer member to assist in retaining the tube cap on the support post. 
     
     
       4. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 1  wherein the storage magazine has a plurality of slots for containing multiple caps in each of the multiple slots. 
     
     
       5. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 4  wherein the plurality of tube caps in one slot is different than the plurality of tube caps in one of the other slots. 
     
     
       6. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 4  wherein the sorting shunt has a stationary gateway panel with guide channels that correspond to the slots in the storage magazine to selectively receive tube caps from the storage magazine. 
     
     
       7. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 6  wherein each guide channel of the gateway panel has a blocking device, wherein the actuator assembly has an actuator mechanism that cooperates with the blocking device to selectively release a tube cap to the cap carrier. 
     
     
       8. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 7  wherein the actuator mechanism of the actuator assembly is displaceable relative to the stationary gateway panel. 
     
     
       9. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 8  wherein the displaceable actuator mechanism is connected to the cap carrier and the transport system transports the actuator assembly and the connected cap carrier from guide channel to guide channel and the cap carrier to the orientation station. 
     
     
       10. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 7  wherein the actuator assembly includes a pair of upper and lower actuator elements. 
     
     
       11. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 10  wherein the blocking device of each guide channel has an upper and lower blocking pin selectively engageable with the upper and lower actuator elements of the actuator assembly wherein one tube cap from the magazine is blocked and simultaneously another tube cap is released when the actuator mechanism is actuated. 
     
     
       12. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 11  wherein the actuator assembly has an actuation spool connected to the upper and lower actuator elements and to a radial drive motor to simultaneously advance one actuator element and retract the other on part rotation of the drive motor. 
     
     
       13. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 12  wherein the presentation pin is connected to the actuator mechanism and engages a tube cap in the tube cap carrier on actuation of a blocking device of a selected guide channel of the gateway panel. 
     
     
       14. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 13  wherein the actuator mechanism and engaged tube cap in the tube cap carrier have a latch to enable transport of the actuator mechanism and engaged tube cap in the tube cap carrier to the orientation station separate from the actuation spool. 
     
     
       15. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 13  wherein the actuator mechanism and engaged tube cap in the tube cap carrier transported to the orientation station are engaged by the pivot actuator to pivot the presentation pin and engaged tube cap to a presentation position for pickup. 
     
     
       16. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 1  wherein the tube cap presenter further comprises:
 a controller that coordinates the operation of the tube cap presenter. 
 
     
     
       17. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 16 , wherein the controller of the tube cap presenter is connected to a general purpose computer having a computer program that programs the protocol for use of the laboratory tube cap presenter. 
     
     
       18. The laboratory tube cap presenter of  claim 1  in combination with a tube cap pickup mechanism.